William F.X. Flynn

| December 22, 2011 - 12:51pm

Dr. William F.X. Flynn of Amagansett, 77, a head and neck surgeon who moved to Amagansett full time upon his retirement in 1997, died at home after a brief illness on Dec. 9. His wife, Jody, and their four children were by his side.
Dr. Flynn was born in New York City on May 29, 1934, the eldest child of Michael and Mary Moran Flynn. He graduated from the Fordham Preparatory School and received a B.A. in classics from Fordham College in 1956.
His vocal talents were recognized early, his family said, and he was chosen for the boys choir of the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola in the city. As a member of the Fordham University Glee Club from 1952 to 1956, they said, he was a member of its signature octet, the Ramblers. He continued to sing throughout his life and had at one time been a member of a group called the Hampton Chorale.
Dr. Flynn graduated from New York Medical College in 1960 and was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society, which “recognizes and advocates for excellence in scholarship.” He served in the military, completing an internship at the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio and training as a flight surgeon at the Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine, also in Texas. He was assigned to Verdun, France, during the Cuban missile crisis and later to Fort Jay on Governor’s Island.
After his service, Dr. Flynn began a two-year residency in otolaryngology and head and neck surgery at New York Hospital, Cornell University Medical College, becoming chief resident. He entered private practice in New Rochelle, N.Y., in 1969 and became director of otolaryngology and maxillofacial surgery at the New Rochelle Hospital Medical Center. He was also an assistant clinical professor in his surgical specialty at New York Hospital, Cornell University Medical College.
Dr. Flynn was president of the Westchester County chapter of the American College of Surgeons from 1981 to 1982, a member of the board of the Westchester chapter of the American Cancer Society, a member of the medical board of the New Rochelle Hospital Medical Center, and a member of the Medical Society of the State of New York, serving as chairman of its ethics committee for Westchester County. He also belonged to the Celtic Medical Society of New York.
Dr. Flynn and Jody Horgan, whom he called the girl of his dreams, met when they were in college. They were married on May 23, 1959, and raised their four children in Texas, France, New York City, and Scarsdale, N.Y.
The Flynns began spending summers in Amagansett in the 1980s. Dr. Flynn joined the East Hampton Trails Preservation Society, helping with trails maintenance. He was also a member of the Irish American Club of East Hampton and the East End Classic Boat Society.
His love of travel took him “from Alaska to Australia, India to the Galapagos, and all parts in between,” his family said. He also enjoyed scuba diving and woodworking, opera and poetry, mythology and the classics, poker and puns. “He was, to all who knew him, a renaissance man,” his family wrote.
In addition to his wife, he is survived by his children: Dr. William F. Flynn Jr. of Southbury, Conn., Jane Taniskidis of Athens, Mara Poutasse of Arlington, Va., and Andrew Flynn of Mill Valley, Calif. He also is survived by 10 grandchildren.
A Mass of Christian burial was said on Dec. 12 at Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church in East Hampton.
The family has suggested contributions to the New York Province Society of Jesuits, 39 East 83rd Street, New York 10028-0810, the Southampton Hospital Foundation for the Montauk Medical Practice, 240 Meeting House Lane, Southampton 11968, or to East End Hospice, P.O. Box 1048, Westhampton Beach 11978.